NewSpring attendance down as church reinvents itself a year after split with founder

Attendance at NewSpring Church has been down in the year since it split with founder Perry Noble.

Church leaders Friday told the congregation that giving is also down, but by cutting expenses and making other changes the church also went from having $6.5 million in the bank a year ago to $15.1 million now.

That means that the days of free T-shirt giveaways, costing the church $300,000 a year, are probably done. But other measures like doubling of the number of people visiting small groups may have a longer-term benefit, said the Rev. Michael Mullikin, the pastor over administration and finances.

The leaders said they tried several times to talk to Noble, relying on Bible passages that call for a pastor to first be counseled one-on-one, then with a small group and finally before the congregation.

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Its current attendance numbers weren't reported Friday, but the Southern Baptist-affiliated megachurch has had as many as 33,000 "owners," as its members are called.

The church also announced a new ministry, Rally, aimed at college-aged people.

McDerment was the first person hired when NewSpring began in 2000 and was worship leader until he took on a new role in 2015.

As an "insider's insider," McDerment said he has never felt so much joy.

He said the early NewSpring had defined itself as being different from traditional churches by having bands and playing secular music, most controversially the AC/DC song "Highway to Hell" for Easter in 2009.

The church was a reaction to what was available in Anderson at the time but times change, McDerment said.

He said he realized after Noble's firing that NewSpring had never had God as part of its vision statements, which focused on people.

Everyone who has been touched by NewSpring, including himself, has room in their hearts and love for what Noble helped to build, Cooper said.

But the new vision for NewSpring is being a church that connects people to Jesus and each other.